Payday 2 is an FPS in which you perform heists, including bank robberies and drug runs, either with your friends or solo. As you complete heists, you can earn money and XP. However, certain missions have requirements that make it difficult to earn your desired amount of XP and money. This is where we come in. In this guide, we’ll go over some of the best ways you can farm Money and XP in Payday 2.
Some of these methods are map-specific, while others are geared toward certain game modes. While you’re free to approach maps any way you want, the methods we’ve described below ensure that you acquire the most XP and money.
7. AFK Solo XP and Money Farming
The AFK solo XP and money farm trick works on several maps but only one game mode in Payday 2; Holdout. In the Holdout game mode, you have to defend a hostage and yourself against waves of police over 30 minutes.
You can load into the game mode either online or offline with AI. You can build their loadout however you want, though we recommend equipping them with snipers. Once the mission begins, position your AI companions around the hostage by pressing Z on your keyboard.
All you have to do now is hide and you’re free to go AFK. Return 30 minutes later to claim your XP and money. The best maps to do this method are The Big Bank, Boat Load, and Heat Street. This is the easiest way to farm money and XP when playing solo.
6. Diamond Store XP and Money Farming
The next method involves the Diamond Store heist. You must be extremely organized and fast to acquire the highest amount of XP and money possible. For this method to work, you will need a full squad of four players with good communication. We recommend setting up voice chat, though text chat works fine, too.
The team will be split into two groups, each with its special tasks. Roles 1 and 2 (group 1) will find the keycard, disable the alarms, and carry the loot to the getaway van, while roles 3 and 4 (group 2) will incapacitate the guards, break the windows, and bag the diamonds.
To start the heist, have role 3 place down a PCM near the store entrance to disable all cameras. Roles 3 and 4 will then enter through the left side of the building by breaking the glass and then incapacitating all guards on the floor.
While group 2 is caring for the guards, group 1 will move in and do their part. Role 1, equipped with a chainsaw, will go straight to the security room on the left side right after you enter. They’ll then break the handle using the chainsaw and take down the guard. If the keycard slot spawns inside this office, they’ll wait right there while role 2 acquires the keycard.
While role 1 was taking care of the guard, role 2 would look for the keycard, it’ll be on the manager, who’ll spawn outside her office on the second-floor hallway or she’ll be coming down the stairs. quickly take her out to acquire the keycard.
Now, the keycard slot can spawn in one of three places. The first area it can spawn is in the security office where role 1 is (the one we’ve already discussed). The other places it can spawn are in the manager’s office upstairs or in the room toward the left of the main hall on the ground floor.
If it spawns in Area 1, role 1 will quickly disable the alarms using the keycard role 2 acquired, if it does not spawn there, role 2 will have to do it, in addition to acquiring the keycard. Head to the other two keycard slot spawn areas discussed above and disable the security system/alarm.
Right after incapacitating the guards and while Group 1 is working on disabling the alarms, group 2 will then start breaking the large glass windows in front of the store, this will help you increase your money payout as it makes the process of getting the diamonds to the van easier. The front windows won’t trip the alarms.
After group 1 has disabled the alarms using the keycard, group 2 will start breaking the display cases in the store. Group 1 will then make their way outside and stand by the entrance. As group 2 breaks the cases and collects the diamonds, they’ll toss the bags out of the broken windows and group 1 will carry them to the getaway van.
If done right, the entire heist can be completed in under two minutes, do note that it may take you a while to perfect this run as it requires an insane amount of planning and near-perfect execution from all team members.
5. Murky Station XP and Money Farming
Murky Station is another excellent map to farm XP and money that can be completed solo or co-op. To maximize your XP and money gains, you’ll have to finish the mission as quickly as possible, all while following certain steps.
First, you need to hack open all four panels on the trains in the train yard. Drop down into the tunnel and make your way to the train yard. The placement of the panels is randomized every time, but they can be found easily by spotting the “Requires Panel Access” text on the carriages. The carriage with this text will have a panel to hack.
Be careful not to get spotted when attempting to open the carriages. It is always a good idea to move away and wait under the carriages should a guard or drone approach you. Each train carriage contains a bomb part (a total of two) or weapon stashes.
Securing the bomb parts nets you more XP than the weapons, so it is always a good idea to ignore the weapons to be efficient. The carriages containing the bomb parts will have a red hue inside. Plus it will be faster to farm XP in Payday 2 this way.
Each carriage containing the loot will be sealed, and you’ll need a special tool to unlock it. The four tools you need are thermal paste, a blow torch, a keycard, and a hard drive. To locate the equipment, you simply need to listen for it.
Thermal paste and blow torches can be found by construction workers, either on the train tracks or in the basement. They are fairly easy to locate. You’ll hear welding sounds when you’re near them.
The hard drive and keycards are similarly located. They emit beeping sounds and can be found in either the basement or the train yard.
If you happen to find the items to open the bombs, don’t bother with the other two to save yourself some time. Next, make your way back to the carriages and unlock the gates in the carriages containing the bombs.
Now, one of two getaway vehicles will spawn a boat or a van. The van is always the faster option, but since the spawns can’t be controlled, you’ll have to work with whatever the game throws at you. Load the bags into the getaway vehicle to finish this heist.
4. Cook Off XP and Money Farming
Cook Off is perhaps the greatest way to quickly farm tons of XP and money in Payday 2. Start the mission by making your way to the house. As you enter, the NPCs cooking the meth will die. Take out the perpetrators (members of the Mendoza gang) and begin looking for the ingredients.
The ingredients required to cook the meth can be found in the truck at the back of the house, the back shed, the front shed, and the basement and bathroom in the house. It is important to note that as soon as you enter the house, a countdown for the cops’ arrival will trigger, and you’ll have to cook and transport the meth from the lab within that period.
Next, Bain will tell you the ingredients to use. The way he structures his sentences is very important in making sure that you use the right ones. Always listen to what he says throughout because sometimes he backtracks on his sentences. In case he does, always use the second ingredient he mentions.
If you use the wrong ingredients, the meth lab will blow up, resulting in you failing the heist.
The best way to play this mission is to assign a single role to each team member;
- Role 1: cook meth
- Role 2: transport the bags of meth to the getaway van
- Role 3: barricade windows
- Role 4: take down the cops
Sticking to a strict role setup like this will help maximize your XP and money gains. It’ll also allow you to complete this mission fairly quickly, which makes repeating it slightly less monotonous.
3. Nightclub Job Money and Experience Farming
Before starting the Nightclub job, buy the Loot Truck from the asset menu. When the heist begins, walk up to the club’s entrance and have the bouncer look at you. The second he does, hide behind the corner. Repeat this a couple of times, and he’ll step aside and let you through.
Enter the club and head over to the bar. You need to enter the kitchen behind the bar. There is a “Staff Only” sign above it. From the kitchen, you have several possible routes that can take you to the Management room, where there is a locked door to the manager’s office. The guards can be in different places each time, so you must use your discretion here. The civilians won’t bother you (as long as you’re not wearing the mask).
I suggest you enter a room on the right side of the kitchen with a ‘Private’ sign above it. Here you should hide behind some crates and put on the mask. Enter through the other door in the room to find yourself in the back of the club and head towards the door to the left.
You’ll be in the room with the locked door. There will probably be at least one guard here, and you must take him out. He’ll drop a keycard that you can use to access the manager’s office. If the first guard does not drop the key card, kill the rest of the guards.
Use the keycard to open the locked door and head to the manager’s room. Start the drill on the safe and return to the other room. If you can bag the bodies, move them to the manager’s room. Then, just wait for the drilling to finish.
Otherwise, you will have to stay in the other room and kill anyone who enters to prevent them from seeing the bodies and calling the cops. They shouldn’t hear the gunfire in the kitchen if you have a silenced weapon.
The drilling can take a long time, and the drill may stop unexpectedly so you will have to head back to the safe and restart it. After the safe is open, smash the window next to it and wait.
When the truck shows up and the icon that says’ move the cash’ appears, throw all the moneybags out the window into the back of the truck. Now make a run for the getaway van. Don’t worry about being detected as you sprint through the club; just run for the van, and you’re done. A bit on the longer side but if you follow the method listed here, you can farm a ton of XP and money in Payday 2
2. Ukrainian Job Money and Experience Farming
Completing the Ukrainian Job is the fastest way to farm money and XP in Payday 2. You need a technician friend who has the Shaped Charges upgrade to help you or to obtain the upgrade yourself.
Pick weapons with very high mobility and start. Just walk across the street, put on the mask, and enter through the front of the building. Don’t bother with shooting or stealth, just sprint straight into the back rooms to the right, then enter the room on the left. There will be a safe here and another similar one in the room next to it.
Drop a shaped charge on the safe and go into the other room. A guard might be here, so shoot him and drop a shaped charge on the safe. If the first safe you crack open does not have the Tiara move on to the second one.
Next, grab the Tiara and exit from where you entered to complete this heist. With the above strategy, it can be completed in under 30 seconds.
1. Offshore Money farming
In Payday 2, the money you make from each heist is split into two accounts: spending cash and offshore cash. You use the former to buy weapons, masks, mods, and cleaners, while the latter is used for the Offshore Payday minigame.
The Offshore Payday minigame allows you to wager your money to acquire unique weapon mods, masks, and materials. The type and variant of item you receive are randomized; however, the more money you put into a certain item, the greater your chances of acquiring it.
Offshore money farming works similarly to standard money farming; the best methods have been described above.
